Philadelphia Eagles: LeSean McCoy, veterans have rookie's back

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, left, is hit by Dallas Cowboys' Jason Hatcher as he throws in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

PHILADELPHIA — LeSean McCoy remembers how it felt to lug around the weight of a new playbook, a new job, a new responsibility. He remembers, too, how it felt to have older teammates to help with that heavy lifting.

He’s only in his fourth year as an Eagle, but that’s how fast careers come and then peak in his profession. So that’s why McCoy knows that Sunday, when the Eagles will play in Washington, that he will be entrusted to carry more than the ball. He will be entrusted, in many ways, to carry a quarterback.

Though McCoy shared Thursday that the Eagles trust the rookie quarterback with a full-service load of plays and responsibilities, there were enough signals around the NovaCare Complex, too, that Nick Foles will have a streamlined workload when he makes his first NFL start in place of the concussion-recovering Michael Vick.

That means the veterans — and McCoy was quick to volunteer — will be asked to make more plays, make them more responsibly, and make Foles’ afternoon as stress-free as possible.

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“The only thing we are thinking about is getting a win,” McCoy was saying, during a pause in the Birds’ preparations. “But as an offense, I will do the best of my ability to try to help him make out. I will try to make some more big plays. And if we have more big-time players, it takes some of the heat off of him. I am really anxious to see how he plays. I am just hopeful that he plays well.”

Foles played a little more than half of the Birds’ most recent game, a 38-23 loss to the visiting Dallas Cowboys. He made some interesting efforts and some infuriating mistakes. Mostly, though, he made it through the mini-audition, allowing the coaches and his teammates to trust him in another division game, with the season itself teetering.

The question, though, is whether his supervisors will trust him with the full playbook, or just with the paperback version.

“The good thing is, the coaches are not taking it easy on him,” McCoy said. “They are giving him a nice amount. So, he’ll be fine.”

Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, however, acknowledged the likelihood of a streamlined game plan.

“That’s part of the plan,” he said. “As far as volume, we’ve talked several times already. I know he knows — and the rest of the football team knows — that there are certain things he can do very, very well. We will play to what we think and what he thinks his strengths are.”

If that’s accurate, and if the Eagles turn just a touch more basic behind the rookie quarterback, that suggests a deeper commitment to the running game. There are two reasons. One, it would the amount of creativity demanded from an inexperienced quarterback. Two, it would keep the clock whirling, shortening the rookie’s work day.

Thus, McCoy is prepared to be busy — which, at least by a quick assessment of the statistics, could be to the Eagles’ advantage. Three times this season, McCoy has had 20 or more carries and all three times, the Birds have won. The other six times? Not so much.

“It means that we’re in four-minute at the end of the game and he gets a few more carries,” Mornhinweg said. “It’s just that simple. I think LeSean is eighth in carries and fourth in total touches in the league. I don’t think there is a problem there. Every game is different, and you have to dig into every game. Usually the ball-carriers get a few more carries when you’re ahead and in four-minute offense near the end of the game.”

The game can turn in any direction Sunday, but McCoy knows it will turn that way at a pace that most rookies cannot imagine.

“In practice, everything is so slow,” McCoy said. “Everything is so easy to identify, the blitzes and things that are sent out, or the calls that need to be made. But when the bullets are flying and guys are running around and they are yelling at you, it is so much faster. It is so much different from practice.”

“That’s the hardest thing. Sometimes, that ball that you throw in practice may be good for practice, but in the game might not be on time. It might not be fast enough or strong enough. It’s just the little things that matter. The game speed is so much faster. I think that once he gets his first couple of plays, he will be fine. He had a little action in the last game. So he should be ready.”

Just the same, he will need some help.

“He’s young,” McCoy said. “But some things you can’t teach are heart and leadership. And I think he has both of those things. Saying that, I think he will be fine in this game and in the future.”

That’s when it will be his turn to do for another rookie what his teammates plan to do for him Sunday.